The "risk takers" who "cross on their own terms" can be equally judged as "gamblers" who gamble with their life. I mean this whole analogy given by article poster is pointless first of all. And then comparing SFers with New Yorkers based on their road crossing habits is even more pointless. In developing countries (like India), where in most cities/towns there is no designated zebra stripe crossing (and definitely no push button pedestrian crossing signals), every one crosses at their own terms, some times dodging medium sized vehicles, giving respect to large vehicles and stopping smaller vehicles(bicycles, bikes etc) by waving their hand as they cross over. From the street hawkers to the bankers, from a school going teen to the old man with walking stick, every one does that. How does that give you any insight into the psyche of a person !! Or the psyche of a geographical region? New Yorkers cross on their terms more often possibly because there's just more people, lot of whom are in rush and "crowd learns soon from the behavior of few"
Trying to glean any meaning from such behavior is a futile exercise.
I've had the opposite experience. When I got to SF I was amazed at all the pedestrians just walking out in front of cars, crossing the street however they feel like it. Most people don't even seem to look. In NYC pedestrians seem aware that moving cars can kill them and purposefully don't walk out in front of them.
I'm actually stunned that you've made the opposite observation. For me it hasn't been an occasional thing, it's a constant, everywhere-I-look-in-both-cities kind of pattern.
Certainly true that New Yorkers tend to cross more quickly than SFers, but can't most of them still be lumped into the OP's second group, as people who just follow?
If 30 people are crossing when the cars have passed but the signal hasn't changed, surely some of them are crossing because the group is, not "on their own terms," as the OP would put it.
If you ever see someone waiting for the walk signal in NYC, it's a good bet that they're a tourist.
Or they are crossing an avenue above 14th street.
SF is filled with "wait for the walk sign" type of folks, while NYC is filled with "cross on their own terms" types. If you ever see someone waiting for the walk signal in NYC, it's a good bet that they're a tourist.